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S.T.E.M. Lesson at Starkey Elementary

Starkey Elementary School in Pinellas County requested to have a District Seven Florida Department of Transportation bridge engineer talk to their S.T.E.M. program (about 30 4th and 5th graders) about bridges.

On February 9, Marshall Hampton from the District Structures Maintenance Office visited their school with handouts of bridge types and truss types, a model of the Skyway, a visual aid of the main span segmental box girder of the Skyway, a slice of a concrete cylinder, a piece of rebar, and a model of a pre-stress beam made of timber blocks and string by the District Structures Maintenance Engineer Jim Jacobsen.

The students were engaged for almost the full hour and asked many questions ranging from how long has Marshall been an engineer to the most expensive or strongest bridge in the world. He will be going back on March 8 to help participate in their marshmallow structure competition.